Local News Briefs

The Oregon State Police and the Curry County District Attorney’s Office announced this week they are investigating the Oct. 21 death of a 24-year-old inmate at the Curry County Jail.

According to Lt. Mark Duncan of the OSP, Cassadi Renee Bond, of Harbor, was arrested Oct. 19 on outstanding warrants and lodged in the jail in Gold Beach.

During the booking process, Bond admitted she’d used heroin prior to her arrest, so corrections officers and medical staff monitored her for signs of opioid withdrawal; the jail nurse was updated “numerous times” regarding Bond’s status.

At about 10:30 p.m. On Oct. 21, however, a corrections deputy found her unresponsive and began CPR and used the automated early defibrillator on her. She was then transported to Curry General Hospital.

The next day, Bond was taken by air ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend in Springfield. She was later taken off life support and pronounced dead shortly thereafter on Oct. 27.

The cause of death is being investigated by the Lane County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Bond’s criminal record is comprised of mostly moving violations, although this year, she had been arraigned and was awaiting trial on third- and second-degree theft charges.

Fatal fall for Sheppard

Brookings resident and Health Shop owner Bob Sheppard died Nov. 4 at a San Francisco hospital from an injury he suffered two days earlier in Brookings when he miscalculated a curb step, fell and struck his head.

He was 77.

The Health Shop is on Railroad Street, where massive reconstruction efforts are underway to build two lanes of roadway, a center turn lane and sidewalks on both sides of the street.

Linda Hainsworth, a Realtor helping the couple sell the shop in preparation for retirement, said the sidewalk is a “really odd configuration,” and that Sheppard thought the ground was level.

Sheppard had offered to get coffee for his wife, Cindy, and was returning to his car when he fell. Hainsworth said he tried to break his fall by grabbing onto the stop sign post when he struck his head on the curb.

He was transported via ambulance and then flown to San Francisco with a brain injury. He died with his wife by his side.

Hainsworth said construction along Railroad resulted in a 50 percent decline in business, so the couple planned to sell the business and retire to Medford.

“He was so happy,” Hainsworth said. “They were doing so well. He just brought her coffee, stepped out the door, and that was it.”

Traffic cones have been set up in the area to warn others.

An obituary will appear in a later edition of the Pilot.

River trails tourism

The Oregon Coast Visitors Association (OCVA) has hired three local outdoor recreational enthusiasts to promote activity on the South Coast.

Hunter Creek area resident Dave Lacey has mountain biking, kayaking, surfing, hiking, fishing and paddleboarding experience and wants to bring that into the OCVA Coastal Plan for destination development.

“OCVA believes outdoor recreation can be a major driver for our economy,” he said. “The organization is investing in fat-tire beach-biking marketing materials, new mountain bike trails with events for both, water trails and improvements to the Oregon Coast Trail.”

Also hired is Brian Kraynik, who will work on water trails.

His primary goal is to create a Coquille River water trail project that highlights the history of the area with recreation in an environmentally sound way.

The water trail along the Coquille will be developed between Myrtle Point to Bandon, and include a history of the river, its ecological values and depict the locations of boat launches, bathrooms and places to stay overnight.

OCVA has also accepted Elizabeth Gronert, a native Iowan-turned-Oregonian, as an Americorps RARE participant for the South Coast to help Lacey with destination development. She will work on outdoor recreation and culinary- and agri-tourism with the South Coast Rural Tourism Studio teams from the South Coast and provide event support.